AgricultureID

Cultivar · Potato cultivar

Bintje

Bintje is a yellow-fleshed Dutch potato bred by Kornelis Lieuwes de Vries in Friesland in the early twentieth century, historically one of the most important frying and all-purpose varieties in north-west Europe.

Dated referenceLast reviewed: 2026-07-12Updated: 2026-07-12
Illustrative diagram · AgricultureID (original)

Record

Cultivar / variety
Variety of
Potato
Botanical taxon
Solanum tuberosum
Type
Cultivar
Breeding method
Cross-breeding
Origin
Friesland, Netherlands, Netherlands
Breeder / institution
Kornelis Lieuwes de Vries (schoolteacher and amateur breeder), Friesland
Registry status
Listed · European Union · as of 2026-07-12
Registries
Adaptation
A temperate maincrop grown as a cool-season crop like potato generally; sensitive to frost and to heat during tuber bulking. Grown on the loose, well-drained soils preferred by potato generally; no unusual soil requirement is documented here.
Intended use
French fries, Table (boiling), Processing

Registry listing or variety protection is jurisdiction- and date-specific and does not by itself indicate current commercial availability, universal cultivation approval, patent status, or a recommendation.

Bintje is a yellow-fleshed potato bred in the Netherlands by Kornelis Lieuwes de Vries, a Frisian schoolteacher and amateur potato breeder, in the early twentieth century. It was reportedly named after one of his pupils. Bintje became one of the most widely grown potatoes in north-west Europe and a benchmark variety for frying.

The tubers are long-oval with yellow skin and flesh and a relatively floury, all-purpose texture. Bintje is strongly associated with the production of fried potatoes (frites) in Belgium, France, and the Netherlands, and it is also used as a general table and processing potato.

Background and identity

Bintje was produced by cross-breeding by K. L. de Vries in the Dutch province of Friesland in the early 1900s and went on to become one of Europe’s most influential potato varieties. Its yellow flesh and frying quality made it a standard for fried-potato production across north-west Europe.

Skin and flesh
Yellow
Tuber shape
Long-oval
Cooking character
Relatively floury / all-purpose; well suited to frying

Registry status and cultivation

Bintje is admitted to the EU Common Catalogue of varieties of agricultural plant species, which permits its marketing within the European Union. Listing is a marketing permission rather than a recommendation and is version- and date-specific. As a maincrop it is grown as a cool-season crop like potato generally, and its cooking and agronomic behaviour vary with region, season, and storage.

Relationships

Evidence-backed connections in the knowledge graph.

Adapted to climate

Adapted to soil

Scope & limitations

Geographic scope: Best documented in north-west Europe (Netherlands, Belgium, France); also grown elsewhere. Culinary and agronomic behaviour is region- and season-specific.

Climate context: Temperate cool-season maincrop.

  • Cooking and agronomic behaviour is region- and season-specific and varies with storage.
  • Registry/listing status is jurisdiction- and date-specific; confirm against the current EU Common Catalogue.
  • The exact year of introduction is reported inconsistently in the literature and is therefore not stated.

Sources

This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.

  1. [1]EU Common Catalogue of varieties of agricultural plant species (opens in a new tab)

    European Commission — Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety

    Authoritative

    Cited for: EU Common Catalogue listing of the variety

    Type:
    Official registry
    Jurisdiction:
    European Union
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12
  2. [2]GRIN-Global / National Plant Germplasm System (opens in a new tab)

    USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Solanum tuberosum classification and germplasm context

    Type:
    Official registry
    Jurisdiction:
    United States / Global
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12
  3. [3]Encyclopaedia Britannica (opens in a new tab)

    Encyclopaedia Britannica

    Moderate

    Cited for: General background on the variety (secondary)

    Type:
    Reference database
    Jurisdiction:
    Global
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12

Related topics

Crops